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Copy-ready Python snippets by topic and difficulty — short, focused, and runnable in the browser editor.
How to Align Text in Two Columns with ljust in Python
Format pairs of strings into two aligned columns using ljust padding.
items = [
("apple", "red"),
("banana", "yellow"),
("cherry", "dark red"),
("date", "brown")
]
col1_width = max(len(name) for name, _ in items) + 2
for name, color in items:
print(name.ljust(col1_width) + color)
How to Transpose a Matrix in Python (List of Lists)
Swap rows and columns of a 2D list using nested loops to produce a transposed matrix.
def transpose(matrix):
# Number of rows and columns in the original matrix
rows = len(matrix)
cols = len(matrix[0]) if rows > 0 else 0
# Create a new matrix with dimensions swapped
result = []
for j in range(cols):
new_row = []
for i in range(rows):
new_row.appe…
Detect Outliers in CSV Data Using Z-Score in Python
Read a CSV file and detect outliers in a numeric column by computing z-scores, flagging those exceeding a given threshold — no machine learning required.
import csv
import statistics
from math import sqrt
def detect_outliers(csv_path, column_name, threshold=2.0):
"""Detect outliers in a numeric column using z-score method."""
values = []
with open(csv_path, 'r', newline='') as f:
reader = csv.DictReader(f)
if column_name not in reader.field…
Export SQLite Query Results to CSV in Python
Connects to a SQLite database, runs a query, and writes the result rows and column headers to a CSV file using the standard library.
import sqlite3
import csv
def export_query_to_csv(db_path, query, csv_path):
conn = sqlite3.connect(db_path)
cursor = conn.cursor()
cursor.execute(query)
rows = cursor.fetchall()
column_names = [description[0] for description in cursor.description]
with open(csv_path, 'w', newline='', encodi…
How to Convert CSV Column Types While Reading in Python
Read a CSV file and automatically convert column values to int, float, str, or bool based on type suffixes in the header names.
import csv
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Any
def read_csv_with_types(filepath: str) -> list[dict[str, Any]]:
"""Read CSV and convert column types based on header suffixes."""
converters = {
"int": int,
"float": float,
"str": str,
"bool": lambda v: v.strip().lower(…
How to Filter CSV Rows by Column Value in Python
Filter CSV rows based on a column value condition using the standard csv module and a lambda function.
import csv
def filter_csv(input_file, output_file, column, condition):
with open(input_file, newline='', encoding='utf-8') as infile, \
open(output_file, 'w', newline='', encoding='utf-8') as outfile:
reader = csv.DictReader(infile)
fieldnames = reader.fieldnames
writer = csv.Dict…
How to Handle Missing Values in a CSV Numeric Column in Python
Clean missing entries in a CSV numeric column by filling them with the mean, median, a custom value, or dropping rows.
import csv
from pathlib import Path
import statistics
def clean_csv_numeric(input_path: str, output_path: str, column: str, strategy: str = "mean") -> None:
"""
Handles missing values in a numeric column of a CSV file.
Strategies: 'mean', 'median', 'drop', or 'fill' with a specified value.
"""
row…
How to Sum a CSV Column by Group in Python
This code reads a CSV string and sums a specified column for each unique value of a group key using the csv module and defaultdict.
import csv
from collections import defaultdict
from io import StringIO
def aggregate_csv(csv_data, group_key, sum_column):
totals = defaultdict(float)
reader = csv.DictReader(StringIO(csv_data))
for row in reader:
key = row[group_key]
totals[key] += float(row[sum_column])
return dict(t…
Join two CSV files on shared key column in Python
Merge rows from two CSV files by a common key column, outputting combined records to a new file.
import csv
def join_csv(file1, file2, key, output="joined.csv"):
# Read first CSV into dict keyed by the join column
with open(file1, newline="") as f1:
reader1 = csv.DictReader(f1)
data1 = {row[key]: row for row in reader1}
# Read second CSV and merge matching rows
with open(file2, n…
Normalize CSV Column Names to snake_case in Python
Convert CSV header names to snake_case using a regular expression and write the updated file in place.
import csv
import re
import sys
def to_snake_case(header):
header = re.sub(r"(?<=[a-z0-9])(?=[A-Z])", "_", header)
header = re.sub(r"[^a-zA-Z0-9]+", "_", header).strip("_").lower()
return header
def normalize_csv_headers(input_path, output_path=None):
with open(input_path, newline="", encoding="utf…
Parse Fixed Width Data File by Column Slices in Python
Extract fields from fixed-width text by slicing each line at defined column offsets, with a dictionary describing the boundaries.
from pathlib import Path
def parse_fixed_width(data: str, slices: dict[str, tuple[int, int]]) -> list[dict[str, str]]:
lines = data.strip().splitlines()
records = []
for line in lines:
record = {}
for name, (start, end) in slices.items():
record[name] = line[start:end].strip()…
Read Parquet-Like Columnar CSV Chunks in Python
A Python generator that reads a CSV file column-by-column, yielding dictionary chunks where each key points to a list of values—mirroring how Parquet stores data columnar.
```python
import csv
from pathlib import Path
from typing import Iterator, List
def read_parquet_like_columnar(csv_path: str, column_names: List[str], chunk_size: int = 2) -> Iterator[dict]:
"""Read CSV data in columnar chunks, similar to how parquet stores columns."""
csv_file = Path(csv_path)
with csv_f…
Read a CSV File with csv.DictReader in Python
Read a CSV file as a list of dictionaries, using csv.DictReader to map each row to column names.
import csv
from pathlib import Path
def read_csv_with_dictreader(file_path):
data = []
with open(file_path, mode='r', newline='', encoding='utf-8') as csvfile:
reader = csv.DictReader(csvfile)
for row in reader:
data.append(row)
return data
if __name__ == "__main__":
# Cre…
Parse CSV Data with a Python Class
Encapsulate CSV file loading and column/row access methods in a reusable DataParser class for beginners.
class DataParser:
def __init__(self, file_path):
self.file_path = file_path
self.data = []
def load_data(self):
with open(self.file_path, 'r') as file:
for line in file:
row = line.strip().split(',')
self.data.append(row)
return self.…
Set Matrix Zeroes in Python: Markers List Grid Demo
Given a matrix, this code finds all rows and columns that contain a zero and sets every element in those rows and columns to zero, using boolean marker arrays.
def set_zeroes(matrix):
rows, cols = len(matrix), len(matrix[0])
row_markers = [False] * rows
col_markers = [False] * cols
# First pass: record which rows and columns contain zeros
for i in range(rows):
for j in range(cols):
if matrix[i][j] == 0:
row_markers[i] …
Validate Sudoku Board Rows Columns and Boxes in Python
Validate a 9x9 Sudoku board by checking that each row, column, and 3x3 box contains the numbers 1 through 9 exactly once.
def validate_sudoku(board):
def is_valid_group(group):
return sorted(group) == list(range(1, 10))
def get_columns():
return [[board[r][c] for r in range(9)] for c in range(9)]
def get_boxes():
boxes = []
for box_row in range(0, 9, 3):
for box_col in range(0, 9,…
Automatically Generate Charts from CSV Files with One Command
Read a CSV file with headers, extract the first two numeric columns, and save a matplotlib line chart as a PNG image.
import csv
import sys
from pathlib import Path
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
def generate_chart(csv_path: str) -> None:
"""Read a CSV file with headers and plot the first two numeric columns."""
data = []
with open(csv_path, 'r', newline='') as f:
reader = csv.reader(f)
headers = next(re…
Convert HTML Tables to Excel Reports in Python
Convert HTML tables into formatted Excel reports using BeautifulSoup and Pandas with auto-adjusted column widths.
import pandas as pd
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
from pathlib import Path
def html_table_to_excel(html_file: str, excel_file: str) -> None:
"""Convert HTML table to formatted Excel report."""
with open(html_file, 'r', encoding='utf-8') as f:
html_content = f.read()
soup = BeautifulSoup(html_…
Build a Python Utility That Detects Duplicate Records Across Multiple Excel Sheets
A Python utility that uses pandas to find overlapping records across different Excel sheets based on specified key columns.
import pandas as pd
from pathlib import Path
def find_duplicate_records_across_sheets(file_path: str, key_columns: list, sheet_names: list) -> dict:
"""
Detect duplicate records across multiple Excel sheets based on specified key columns.
Args:
file_path: Path to the Excel file
key_co…
Check Null Rate Threshold in PySpark DataFrame
This PySpark code checks the null rate of specified DataFrame columns against a threshold and returns violations.
from pyspark.sql import SparkSession
from pyspark.sql.functions import col, sum, count
def check_null_rate(df, threshold=0.2, columns=None):
"""
Check null rate for specified columns (or all) against a threshold.
Returns columns that exceed the threshold.
"""
cols = columns or df.columns
total…
How to Unpivot Wide to Long with pandas melt in Python
This code demonstrates how to use pandas.melt to unpivot a wide DataFrame into a tidy long format, converting subject columns into rows.
import pandas as pd
# Sample wide-format data
df_wide = pd.DataFrame({
'id': [1, 2, 3],
'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
'math': [90, 85, 95],
'science': [80, 92, 88]
})
print("Original wide DataFrame:")
print(df_wide)
# Melt: unpivot subject columns into rows
df_long = pd.melt(
df_wide,
…
How to detect anomalies in a column using z-score in Python
Detect outliers in a list of numbers using z-score statistics, flagging values that deviate significantly from the mean.
import random
def z_score_anomaly_detection(data, threshold=2.0):
"""
Detect anomalies in a list of numbers using z-score.
"""
mean = sum(data) / len(data)
variance = sum((x - mean) ** 2 for x in data) / len(data)
std_dev = variance ** 0.5
if std_dev == 0:
return []
a…
Pivot long to wide transformation dict
Transform a list of dictionaries from long format to wide format by pivoting on a key column and aggregating values, using pure Python.
def pivot_long_to_wide(rows, key_col, value_col, id_cols=None):
"""
Convert long-format data (list of dicts) to wide format.
Args:
rows: List of dicts in long format
key_col: Column name to pivot on (becomes new column headers)
value_col: Column name whose values become the cel…
Union Multiple DataFrames with Aligned Columns in Python
Concatenate DataFrames with different columns, aligning them and filling missing values with NaN using pandas concat.
import pandas as pd
from io import StringIO
# Sample dataframes with different columns
df1 = pd.DataFrame({
'id': [1, 2, 3],
'name': ['Alice', 'Bob', 'Charlie'],
'age': [25, 30, 35]
})
df2 = pd.DataFrame({
'id': [4, 5],
'name': ['Diana', 'Eve'],
'city': ['NYC', 'LA']
})
df3 = pd.DataFrame({
…
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